“Encryption is inexorably tied to our national interests. It is a safeguard for our personal secrets and economic prosperity. It helps to prevent crime and protect national security." – A report from the bipartisan House Judiciary Committee & House Energy and Commerce Committee

Follow-Up: $4.5 Billion National Cybersecurity and Protection System (NCPS) Program Fails to Stop Chinese Hack of U.S. Government Personnel Files

The largest government hack in history is even larger than officials have admitted, with some sources saying every single federal employee had personal information stolen, including social security numbers.

In a letter obtained by the AP, American Federal of Government Employees president J. David Cox alleged that the data breach of the government’s civil service human resources division, the US Office of Personnel Management, is way worse than it looks:

“Based on the sketchy information OPM has provided, we believe that the Central Personnel Data File was the targeted database, and that the hackers are now in possession of all personnel data for every federal employee, every federal retiree, and up to one million former federal employees.”

The letter called the OPM’s failure to encrypt social security numbers “absolutely indefensible and outrageous.”

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